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Koeberg desalination plant operational

Koeberg Nuclear Power Station has completed its own groundwater desalination plant which will satisfy the plant’s water needs. Although this water won’t be fed into the City of Cape Town’s supply grid, the desalination plant will decrease the pressure on the grid as Koeberg’s water needs will be managed internally.

“The desalination plant is part of Koeberg’s three-pronged water management strategy to address the current water shortages in the Western Cape while ensuring that the plant is able to provide safe and sustainable electricity,” says Koeberg’s manager Velaphi Ntuli.

Part of this strategy is to cut down on the power station’s daily water usage, maintain a stock of clean water on-site and investigate alternative sources of water. This has led to Koeberg saving about 115 million litres of water since June 2017.

Not only will the desalination plant reduce the pressure on the City of Cape Town, it will also ensure a continuous supply of usable water for the country’s oldest nuclear power station. Over the past 33 years, Koeberg has provided 50% of the Western Cape’s energy and about 5.6% of South Africa’s electricity, according to Eskom.

Koeberg uses seawater to cool its condensers, not municipal water. This seawater is returned to the ocean after use, and as a result, saves 22 billion litres of municipal water per year.

Besides Eskom, other companies such as Tsogo Sun are also building desalination plants to meet their water needs in Cape Town.

Image by Paul Scott.

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